One Night

Chapter 17

Chapter 17
The session at the recording studio had everyone excited and went well. Together, they recorded three songs for their demo. The one Evan had wrote and two of Piper’s that the band had all agreed upon. They left on a high note, ecstatic to have experienced what being a real band felt like.
Evan clasped Piper’s hand, and she glanced his way, “thank you for all of this.”
“It isn’t that big of a deal,” Piper replied.
“I never thought I’d be in a recording studio actually recording my own music. Thanks for giving us that chance, Piper, I really appreciate it,” he squeezed her hand.
“It works for all of us, Evan, but it is a special moment that we all had a chance to experience.”
In a sense of comradery, Shiana came up and hooked her arm around Piper’s waist. They walked together out into the car park, only to find themselves faced with an angry Colah. Dread clenched at Piper’s chest at seeing him again so soon.
How did he know that they’d be here? She felt Shiana tense beside her, and then a groan went through her.
“Why are you here?” Shiana snapped.
“The better question is how did you know that we’d be here?” Piper bristled.
“She’s on our side, Piper. How haven’t you noticed?” Colah said snidely as he gestured to Shiana.
“What?” Shiana screeched, but all eyes turned to her accusingly.
“Are you trying to undermine Shiana for a reason?” Piper sounded amused as she saw through his desperate plan.
“How can you trust her when she betrayed you?” Colah accused.
Piper huffed out a laugh, “because I know your daughter. I might have missed her actions over the years, but now that I have my friend back, and I know her motivations, I will never believe you again, Colah,” Piper continued to walk away.
“How did you know where to find us, Dad? The record company had no idea we were coming here today,” Shiana demanded with her voice growing more strident.
“I know people in the industry, and they are always happy to answer my calls,” he said smugly.
"With that you’ve now proved my innocence,” Shiana said triumphantly.
“And your obsession with us,” Piper added, “we told you that we’re all grown up now and we don’t need you to hold our hands. We are making our own decisions, and we aren’t going to listen to these lies that you’re making up about us,” Piper firmed her voice.
“Piper, listen, Shiana is on our side,” Colah continued in a convincing voice.
“If she was on your side so much, then why do you need to come snivelling over here to try and convince me? The fact that you are trying to convince me of her ‘so called’ betrayal tells me one thing, she hasn’t had anything to do with you since we first started to speak together,” Piper defended her friend.
“I can bury you,” Colah threatened, and this time, Piper fully laughed.
“I can’t believe that you go from convincing to threatening without even taking a breath. You’ve lost us. We aren’t coming back to you ever again,” Piper said with conviction.
“I know the truth, and I’ll expose you,” Colah warned.
Piper chose to ignore him as she wrapped her arm over Shiana’s shoulder and tightened her fingers in Evan’s. Colah continued to stand directly in front of them, and Piper sighed.
“Why do you need to have control of us so badly?” Piper asked, and she watched Colah flounder to answer.
“Are you still gambling, Dad?” Shiana asked seriously.
“Did he gamble?” Piper asked in surprise.
“I do think we were his first gamble. Then, because we paid off so brilliantly for him, he started gambling his money, which he earned off your talent,” Shiana told her.
“Wow, I didn’t know that.”
“We aren’t paying off your gambling debts, Dad, and we’re not coming back to be your puppets. Leave us alone!” Shiana snapped.
“Gambling debts?” Evan asked as the rest of the band drew closer.
Colah spluttered in protest and tried to defend himself, but Shiana would have none of it. She slashed a hand through the air at him, and Colah stared at her fiery demeanour.
“Yes, very large gambling debts and the royalties aren’t due yet. I’ve paid them off a few times but never again,” Shiana said as she glared at her father.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Colah blustered.
“Yes, you do. You also know that I’m a save money for a rainy day girl, actually, we both are,” Shiana pointed to herself and Piper.
“Shiana, you need to end this nonsense and come back to your parents,” Colah tried to wheedle.
“No, Dad, not now, not ever. We are done with you and your nonsense,” Shiana threw her hands in the air against him.
She turned, gestured to the rest of the band, and together, they walked away. Piper and Shiana linked arms to show that they supported each other.
Colah called out to them, and when they didn’t respond, his voice grew louder. The last they heard of him was a loud screaming at how they would regret leaving him behind.
Piper’s heart continued to thud loudly as the stress of the confrontation consumed her. She realised that Colah would continue harassing them. There was no escaping from what he saw as his right.
“We need a game plan for dealing with him from now on,” Piper said as the group drove away, leaving Colah floundering behind.
“We do,” Shiana agreed.
“He definitely thinks that he can get you back,” Evan said.
“It’s not going to happen,” Shiana determined.
“No, it’s not, and now we’ve got our demo to give to Tan,” Piper added.
“As long as he knows that it’s ours and your dad has nothing to do with it,” Mauve added.
“We’ll tell him, and if he includes dad, then we’ll take our opportunity to someone else. Trust us, he doesn’t want to lose us anymore, then Colah does,” Piper insisted.
“I want to see proof of that,” Mauve snorted.
“Alright, we will make an appointment and see him as a group,” Shiana promised.
“That sounds like a good idea, but right now, I just want to head home,” Piper said with a yawn.
“It’s been a long day,” Evan agreed.
“You two just want to get busy,” Mauve said in disgust.
“Stop acting so jealous.”
“I’m just pointing out the obvious,” Mauve said with a shrug.
None of them had noticed that Shiana had answered a call. Only her growing enthusiasm had the rest of the band falling into silence.
“We can send you the demo, but I’d rather that we see you in person, Tan. You need to prove to us that dad has no connection to what we have planned,” Shiana insisted.
“Are you sure you don’t want to include your father? He is your manager,” Tan enquired.
“My father hasn’t been my manager for a while. He has nothing to do with my life or career anymore. Do we understand each other, Tan?” Shiana firmed her voice.
“Yes, of course. When would you like to come in?”
Shiana looked around the group with a growing eagerness, “are you busy today?”
“It’s Saturday, but I’ll make an exception for you. How soon can you get here?”
“Within the hour.”
“I’ll be here ready for you.”
Shiana hung up and smiled. Things were starting to move forward. Piper squeezed her arm, so she turned to her friend.
“This is your chance, Pip. Let’s take it on,” Shiana said with a broad grin.
“Actually, it’s the chance for everyone,” Piper answered.
“It is, so you might want to turn around, Evan,” Shiana gestured back the way they had come.
“Where am I driving?”
“We have to go to the other side of the city. I’ll direct you where to go.”
For the next hour, Evan drove while everyone else chatted together. Excitement mixed with nerves, which turned into bursts of laughter and loud chatter.
When they arrived, the group fell silent. The anticipation of whether this one person would approve of their music only made everyone tenser.
“Why are we at a house?” Evan was the one to break the silence.
“Because that’s where Tan will meet us,” Shiana replied.
When Piper pressed the doorbell, she could hear someone gulp behind her. It was a more intense moment than she had perhaps experienced before. Everything hinged on this one meeting.
“Ah, there you are,” Tan said as he opened the door, “I can see that you brought a fan squad with you.”
“This is the band I’ve been telling you about called The Pips,” Shiana stood at the front of the group as the spokeswoman, “Piper is the singer.”
“This isn’t fluffy, like the music that shaped Shiana’s career,” Piper warned.
“Let me hear it, and I’ll decide if it’s a viable option or not,” Tan said with barely a glance at the rest of the band.
“Before we show you, I hope you realise that I’m not going to be the face. This demo is all about Pip and the band. Shiana, as a star doesn’t exist anymore,” Shiana reiterated.
“Have you looked at this rag tag bunch of people?” Tan lowered his voice and leaned towards Shiana.
“Hey, don’t insult us!” Mauve protested.
“This won’t work, Shiana,” Tan scoffed.
“Why because you haven’t got my face promoting the songs? That’s really shallow, Tan,” Shiana accused.
“I think we’ve worn the welcome out here. The last thing I want to do is show this guy our music,” Evan said.
Shiana frowned, “you might be right. He’s a bit on my dads side too much. We’ll have to find someone else.”
I’m the only one who knows your little secret,” Tan’s smile made Piper’s heart clenched because she knew he was right.
“We gave you the opportunity to back us, and now you’ve missed that opportunity,” Piper forced herself to calm before she spoke.
“Once Shiana squeaks out any words, you’re both done anyway. I’m not going to miss out on anything,” Tan answered snidely.
“Let’s go, guys. We were wrong to trust in Tan,” Piper said as she turned to walk away with disappointment gripping her.
“He’s not the only one who knows about us. We’ll find someone else,” Shiana whispered as she leaned towards Piper.
“Yeah, but he has the power to put all those off side,” Piper admitted as she thought about the situation with growing dread.
“So, what’s the plan?” Evan asked.
“Give us a day or so to call some people, and we’ll go from there,” Shiana advised as they walked away.
“Is Piper right in what she said?” Mauve asked.
Shiana drew in a deep breath, “both my father and Tan know a lot of people in the industry,  but we only need one to sign us up.”
As encouraging as Shiana sounded, the meeting with Tan put a damper on the previous euphoric mood. For a brief, shining moment, everything had a wonderful, bright possibility, but now it lay shattered.
“Don’t give up. All artists experience rejection,” Shiana tried to encourage.
“Yeah, but not all artists start out with people high up in the industry not giving them a chance,” Mauve said with a shake of her head.
“It kind of feels like we’re done here,” Logan added.
“We’ve still got our gig at the cafe, so we’re doing something,” Evan tried to lift the spirits a little.
“Ev, we just got shot down by someone because he wanted to,” Mauve said.
“Listen, guys, you need to realise that I didn’t shoot to fame with my first try. Colah had me sing to lots of people before Tan saw my potential. We’ll just keep trying,” Piper said with a confident smile that she didn’t really feel, “right now, I’m not letting Colah win again. Just trust in me and Shiana. Give us a little faith.”
Evan smiled at her, and the depressed mood lifted a little. After all, without Piper, they wouldn’t have made it past singing to friends and family.
“Fine. I mean it’s not your fault that Shiana’s dad doesn’t want you to succeed without him. You’ve made him rich, and obviously, he doesn’t want to live without that. Do what you can,” Mauve told them.
Piper looked around at these people who believed in her and felt such a staggering sense of gratitude. They weren’t giving up on her, and she wasn’t giving up on trying.
One night, a euphoric sense of achievement turned into doubt only to turn back into a wonderful sense of hope.